Much valuable information content—e.g., copyrighted music, videos, text, software, etc.—is available in digital form. Storing content in electronic digital form offers a number of advantages, such as wide availability of distribution channels, wide availability and low cost of storage media, and the ability to render digital content in high-quality. However, electronic digital content suffers from the disadvantage that high-quality illegal copies can easily be made with little skill or effort. Thus, unauthorized copying of valuable digital content has become a significant problem. Millions of users share unlicensed, non-revenue generating digital assets via peer-to-peer networks and other means, and the phenomenon is growing.
It is unlikely that any law or technology will be completely effective in stopping this trend. Law enforcement does not have the resources to monitor every environment in which illegal copying could take place. Every existing technology that has sought to prevent illegal copying has eventually been broken. Given sufficient time and motivation, a skilled hacker can find a weakness in almost any technology. Since copy-protection technology is generally employed to protect information that has a high economic value, there is no shortage of motivation to break a copy protection technology.
If copy-protection technologies can be broken, and if law enforcement cannot effectively prevent copying, then a better approach to the prevention of illegal copying is to provide a system that gives users an incentive to participate lawfully in the distribution and licensure of content. The possibility that a copy protection technology can be broken is less of a concern if a user has more to gain by participating in the distribution scheme for content than he does by circumventing that scheme. By providing such an incentive, much illegal copying is averted and wider distribution (and purchase) of the content is encouraged.
The present invention provides a system and method for encouraging users to handle content lawfully and to participate in the distribution of that content, and provides advantages that have not been realized in the prior art.